


Lethe

by AlchemyAssist



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, College, M/M, POV Alternating, POV Multiple, Rating May Change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-18
Updated: 2015-07-18
Packaged: 2018-04-09 22:34:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4366778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlchemyAssist/pseuds/AlchemyAssist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A Haikyuu!! AU in which pretty much everything is the same as season one, but everyone is at university instead of high school. (I'll add tags and a better summary when I post chapter 3, b/c that's when it all goes down :P; I don't want to spoil the plot ;)</p><p>Status: On Hold</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lethe

**Author's Note:**

> My Dear Fellow Haikyuu!! Fans,
> 
> I will get this out of the way right here and now, at the very beginning:
> 
> I am sorry.

_BREEEEEEEEET!!_ The sound of the referee’s shrill whistle sounded, signaling the end of the first set. Karasuno University had won it by a slim lead of four points, but it was a victory nonetheless. Hinata bent over and clutched his knees for support, gasping for desperately-needed oxygen. Even with the team’s improved skills, this match felt just as difficult as the one against Dateko, played so long yet so short a time ago. Their current rival team had decent receivers and their blockers were nearly as skilled as Dateko’s. Hinata couldn’t even count how many quicks he had had to make, and how many he had feinted. Out of the corner of his eye, Hinata saw Coach Ukai walk forward as he called the team together.

                “Huddle up guys, we only have a few minutes! We need to go over strategies, hurry up!” he yelled harshly. Though only eight of the team had played in this match, every member came forward to hear what the coach had to say, jogging up quickly to the side of the court. Hinata wasn’t the only one there who was still panting. Nishinoya was still struggling to catch his breath after running back and forth so much; Kageyama looked utterly exhausted, his skin shining from the coat of sweat combined with the harsh lights overhead, though he wouldn’t complain; Asahi’s spikes were slowly running out of power; Daichi’s arms were already starting to bruise; Tanaka didn’t even have the strength to razz the other team; Sugawara’s setting was becoming less and less accurate; even Tsukishima, usually so cold and stoic and _invincible_ -looking, was getting worn out. The team’s shoes squeaked as they crossed the floor of the gymnasium and they waited for Ukai to say his piece.

                “Look, guys, even though it’s only the first set and you’re already running on steam, you can’t give up! It’s just the same as Dateko, and you were able to beat them!”

                “Barely,” Tanaka wheezed, glaring at the coach.

                “We just need to keep getting around their blockers and we’ll be fine.”

                “Dateko didn’t have _all_ of us running around the court! They could block, but these guys…they can block _and_ keep us on our feet. They’re just playing with us until we don’t have the strength to receive them, and then they’ll really start attacking. They’re ruthless,” Tanaka could only manage a murmur. No one else seemed to be in a position where they could speak coherently.

                “You can’t give up!” the other advisor, Takeda spoke up. Though he always seemed to have words of inspiration for the team, he appeared to have reached the same conclusion as the players: they couldn’t keep this up for much longer. “This is the biggest tournament of the year! You can’t give up yet! I thought you all were better than this! You’ve never given up before!”

                “We’ve never _faced_ anything like this before,” Tsukishima muttered, wiping at a trail of sweat running down his face.

                “I never said I was giving up,” Hinata panted. His orange hair was darker than usual from the damp and clung to his forehead, but he seemed to be ignoring it. “None of us are giving up, right?!” he glared at his teammates. Kageyama, arms hanging limply at his side, simply nodded. The other boys murmured agreements that didn’t sound too enthusiastic. “We’ve faced bigger challenges before, when we were less of a team, but we made it through them all! Never once have we considered giving up. Look at us now, at how far we’ve come! We can beat these guys! With Noya-san as our libero, Sawamura-san receiving, Tsukishima, Tanaka-san, Azumane-san and I spiking, and with our genius setters-” Kageyama’s eyes widened. Even though he was talking about both he and Suga, Hinata had never given him a compliment like that before. “-we’re unstoppable. We can do anything, guys! We’ve flown higher than anyone ever thought possible! And we’re still moving upwards. We’ve faced some tough obstacles before and they’ve only made us stronger. Stronger as individuals, and stronger as a team! If we could do it then, we can do it now. And we will! The crows will _fly!!_ ”

                There was a short, stunned silence in the group. Hinata never made up speeches like that. He never addressed the entire team this way. Yes, he inspired hope, but never quite in this way before. Each of the team members slowly started to grin until they were all beaming down at Hinata (except for Noya, who had to look slightly upwards).

                “How did a shrimp like you come up with a speech like that?” Tsuki mumbled, even though said speech seemed to have lifted his spirits.

                “You’re right, Hinata!” Noya smiled. “Guys, we can do this! We’ll just have to be more precise with our receiving, but if we can do that, we should be in a good enough position to keep scoring.”

                “Exactly!” Ukai said. “That’s all you need to focus on improving right now.” The whistle blew again. The players automatically walked back onto the court. “Hinata!” Ukai called over the whistle. The short boy looked back at him questioningly.

                “With this rotation, you’re in the back now. Make sure you don’t mess up your receiving.”

                “Yes!” he nodded, a determined glare etched onto his face.

                As Hinata took his place on the back left, Asahi several feet in front of him, he glanced at the other team’s server. He was tall, heavily muscled with a brutish appearance and had an almost evil glint in his eyes as he surveyed the Karasuno team. Hinata guessed that he was trying to decide who the weakest receiver was and would aim for them. The server’s eyes shifted to him and he smirked. Hinata glared back in reply, his mouth curved downward into a threatening frown.

                The server raised the ball up and put his arm into position, staring straight ahead. His poker face seemed to work on Hinata’s team, as they struggled to predict who he’d serve to. They grew more edgy as the seconds ticked by, wondering who would need to stop his strike. The server pulled his arm back and sent the ball right at Tanaka, to the far right of Hinata. The ball slapped into his arms hard, but Tanaka was able to complete the dig and send it to Kageyama.

                “Kageyama! Left!” Asahi yelled, readying himself for his ace’s spike. Kageyama, the only expression on his face being one of pure concentration, pushed the ball upward and into Asahi’s prime spiking positon. The ball soared high above the net, slightly away from it, and Asahi jumped into the air. Hinata tensed at the scene before him, watching Asahi’s power strike. The resounding _smack_ was loud in the small spiker’s ears, and for a moment, Hinata dared to hope. The rest of the team did too, their frames stretching up slightly with a renewed energy. The ball seemed to fly just above the blocker’s hands, when one of them decided to extend himself further at the last moment. The ball brushed his fingertips.

                “One touch!” he yelled. One of his team’s middle blockers saved it. He passed it to the setter, who positioned it for their right-wing spiker. Asahi and Kageyama rushed to block it, but they were too late. The spiker sent the ball hurtling toward Hinata at such a blinding speed that he didn’t have any time to react. It seemed that the spiker had purposefully aimed for him; Hinata could just make out the gleeful glint in his eyes as the ball slammed straight into his head. The referee’s whistle blew, but it was too late. The small boy immediately crumpled to the floor and his head smacked against the hard wood of the gymnasium.

                “Hinata!!” the crows yelled in unison as they saw their spiker suddenly collapse to the ground, blood quickly streaming down his entire face.

                Kageyama’s scream was the loudest.

**Author's Note:**

> So I actually just started watching this about a week ago (almost done w/ season one :D), and I'm really upset at myself for waiting so long TT I really love this show and am soooo in love with like all of the characters x3 I really need to get off my butt and watch more sports anime. They are so freaking good. ^^ Not to mention they help me get pumped up when I'm working out. I've got a stationary bike and I just ride it for hours a day while watching anime x3 [during the summer at least c: we'll see how much I can do when uni starts up again TT]
> 
> P.S. I'll shoot for around 2k+ words per chapter, but this one is short b/c I can't write sport scenes, especially for volleyball TT I just need to study up on it more. Last time I played it was probably sophomore year in high school, and we didn't even use all of the official rules x3
> 
> P.P.S. Tsuki is such a dick I love him. C:


End file.
